Mitsubishi Electric Corp. is close to finalizing plans to build a new manufacturing plant near Savannah.

The company has been looking for a plant near the Port of Savannah for at least two years, but decided a mega-site in nearby Pooler, Ga., made more sense, a source close to the previous negotiations said.

Mitsubishi would bring up to 500 jobs, primarily in engineering, that pay close to $80,000 annually.

In the past decade, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG all passed on the Pooler site, which is less than 10 miles from the Port of Savannah and at the intersection of interstates 95 and 16.

Mitsubishi Electric, through its U.S. subsidiary, Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas Inc., has moved into final negotiations with the state to put the manufacturing plant on part of the giant site, according to the Savannah Morning News.

“I think the realization sunk in that the site should be made available for multiple projects,” said Bob Robers, a vice president and logistics expert with Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

“If you hold out for the whale, and the whale never shows up, what good is that?” he said.

Robers believes Mitsubishi could unlock the Pooler site’s potential to attract other significant projects that may not qualify for mega-sites.

During the past two years, Mitsubishi eyed a site in Port Wentworth, Ga., but that site lacked zoning.

The Pooler site was ready to go.

If Mitsubishi lands at the Pooler site, the deal may also give more momentum toward completing the Jimmy Deloach Parkway extension, sources said. That project is key to eliminating a key bottleneck between the Port and I-95.

The Port of Savannah was the only U.S. port under consideration, a source familiar with Mitsubishi’s plans said.

The Port has become the No. 1 choice in the southeastern United States for Asian cargo, Robers said.

Companies like the easy access from Savannah via I-95 to cities along the Eastern Seaboard and access to Macon and Atlanta via I-16.

In addition, Savannah is the only port in the Southeast with CSX and Norfolk Southern intermodal facilities on site.

Mitsubishi may also help the Port of Savannah distance itself from other competing ports along the East Coast, including Charleston, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla.

The Georgia Ports Authority has said its top priority is deepening the Savannah River channel by the end of 2012. The project would complement the addition of a third set of locks in the Panama Canal that are being built to accommodate much larger cargo vessels. That project is slated to be finished by 2014. Together, both projects are expected to create a huge economic impact for Georgia and the Southeast.

In recent years, the Port of Savannah courted big companies such as The Home Depot Inc., Target Corp., and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to locate warehouses and import distribution centers. Recently, however, the Port began an effort to attract food importers and exporters to locate new distribution centers.

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